My DSLR takes great photos but....

[naos]

I have a Canon 30D. The photographs it takes are nice and sharp, but for me, it's not only about the output I get from a camera; it's also about the process involved in getting a great shot. For some reason, my 30D encourages me to take a lot of photos, without thinking too much about what I'm doing. I'll take over 500+ photos in a day, only to find that I only have maybe 5-10 that are keepers. With those 5-10 shots, I'll run them through Lightroom, save them as TIFF's and have them printed. Then I'm left with some nice looking prints. I can do all this in a couple hours. There's a problem though. I'll hold these prints in my hand, but they don't feel like something of my creation. They seem very impersonal to me. There was something missing in the process......So I thought about what it was like when I first started to learn about photography. I used a Nikon FM10. Fully manual SLR. With a manual camera, I had to set the aperture, shutter speed and focus all by myself. I missed those times, when photography was more rewarding. There was no instant-gratification. I had to wait at least a few hours to see my prints. When I had a good shot, it was such a wonderful feeling because I actually felt like I made the photograph. When I had a bad shot, I could think about what went wrong and take full responsibility with such a bad photo. I loved my Nikon, but I always had my eyes set on a Leica. I never had the money to buy one, until now. . . . .So I took the plunge.And bought a Leica MP with 50 1.4 'Lux. I could't be happier!!!!Great build quality and smooth operation. Photography has become fun for me again! It's become a part of me, instead of being a seperate entity. My camera didn't create my photos, I DID damn it! SO, I got my first black and white roll back yesterday. Out of the 20 photos I took, guess how many were keepers? ALL 20!!!One shot, one kill on all 20 photographs of different subjects. So how come I can get 20/20 with a film camera and only 10/500 on a DSLR?My MP forces me to really think about what I'm going to shoot. How I want it composed. What setting I want to use. I've only got 24 frames and I want each of them to count.But this isn't only about forcing one to think about a photograph. It's about the act of making your own decisions. It's about sound of the winding lever. It's about the thunk of the shutter. It's about the twisting of the shutter dial. The setting of the aperture.It's about the FOCUS..FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!!!!Basically, it's about the PROCESS. For me, the prints are not what I strive for as the end result. Sure I want to have great photos. We all do. But the PROCESS of taking, making, creating a photo is just as important as the end print result. Sorry for getting so spiritual on you guys,,but my MP really opened my eyes. I SEE THE LIGHT!

 

[RayPA]

Amen, Brother! Welcome, BTW. Here's what I've found: Shooting a lot with my M cameras has made me enjoy using my DSLR a lot more. It has also made me appreciate how special film and rangefinders are, especially together.

 

[Keith]

If this 'conversion' rate keeps up we are going to get the reputation of being a strange religious cult rather than a forum ... before you know it we'll all be shaving our heads and chanting "film, film, film!".

 

[mfunnell]

Hmm. The way I am, my head doesn't need shaving!

...Mike

 

[rodneyAB]

wild man! wild

 

[naos]

Thanks guys! This is really exciting for me. Tommorow I'll be learning how to develop and print my own Black and White photographs in a darkroom. Can't wait!

 

[Ronald M]

Think before you push the shutter just like with film. The problem will go away.

JUST REMEMBER THE SHUTTER HAS A FINITE LIFE.

Doing this is not as free as you think.

 

[Keith]

I like to have both options I must admit. A classic example was yesterday when a large Goanna appeared at the rear of the house (see 'that's a lizard' post) and was gone again a minute or so later. Time to snatch my D70 off the table turn it on and get off at least a dozen shots before he disappeared. The equivalent in film would have to have been a bloody great SLR with a motor drive sitting there ready to go ... with a film in it! The pics I took are not worthy of any gallery but they recorded the event quickly and efficiently for ME.

I love all my film cameras and I love the look of film and the interaction with the camera ... but I wouldn't part with my D70!

 

[abenner]

20/20 keepers? you're good. My first M roll was good, but only maybe 1/4 keepers. Of course, they're all the same subject.

 

[kshapero]

If this 'conversion' rate keeps up we are going to get the reputation of being a strange religious cult rather than a forum ... before you know it we'll all be shaving our heads and chanting "film, film, film!".

Film, film, film,film, filmfilmfilmfilmfilm


Shaving my head about right now,

 

[abenner]

Now try developing yourself. You'll feel even better about keepers.

 

[Avotius]

I like to have both options I must admit. A classic example was yesterday when a large Goanna appeared at the rear of the house (see 'that's a lizard' post) and was gone again a minute or so later. Time to snatch my D70 off the table turn it on and get off at least a dozen shots before he disappeared. The equivalent in film would have to have been a bloody great SLR with a motor drive sitting there ready to go ... with a film in it! The pics I took are not worthy of any gallery but they recorded the event quickly and efficiently for ME.

I love all my film cameras and I love the look of film and the interaction with the camera ... but I wouldn't part with my D70!

I hear that, sometimes you just got this shot in front of you that isnt worth doing on film or not necessary, gota love digital for that, which is what has kept me from chucking my 20D in the trash, but if only I could afford the digital...and the rangefinder together...hm....how much debt can I go in and do I really need to go to my last year of college....

 

[x-ray]

You've pretty much described the new generation of shooter. Shoot digital, shoot a bunch of frames without any thought, take them to photoshop, see if there are any that can be saved with photoshop and rework one or two frames untill you have something you like.

A year ago i was talking to Kim Weston, the granson of Edward Weston. He teaches seminars and was talking aobut the same thing. Fill a memory card, run in and download and see if any one frame can be salvaged in photoshop.

This isn't phototgraphy!

Digital doesn't have to be that way. I shoot all formats, digital included, with the same care that i do my 8x10 camera. It doesn't make any difference if it's 35mm or 8x10, it takes the same care in composition, exposure and mentally processing what goes into makeing a great image. It's not a perchance or random process. There's no substitute for getting everything right before the release is presses. No a photoshop work will make it better than an image well planned and executed.

 

[tedwhite]

"Now try developing yourself." - abenner

Does that mean he should go to college?

 

[tedwhite]

On a more serious note, was at a birding center in Arizona a few weeks ago, and a retired entomologist who has re-invented himself as an avid bird photographer, was sitting in a folding camp chair next to me. He had a giant Canon DSLR of some sort with the requisite giant white lens.

I had a 40 year old Pentax Spotmatic with a 300/4 Super Takumar lens. Sitting next to him I could hear the snap-snap-snap-snap of the Canon shutter. It never seemed to stop, except when he stuck in a new 2GB card.

I shot one roll of Fujichrome Provia 100, 36 exposures. Subsequently we became friends, and I asked him how many pics he had taken that day. Something like 400, he said. Then he added that only a very few were worth keeping, and that he deleted the rest. I guess that's the machine-gun approach.

Later I returned to the same spot, using this time a Pentax DSLR with the same lens ($20 adapter) that was now a 450mm equivalent. Again, he was there, and virtually the same thing happened. He took hundreds, I took maybe 30.

Perhaps that's the difference between someone who has spent a lifetime with film and someone who started out with digital (he did).

Ted

 

[lZr]

naos, perhaps all of us feel the same. Now you are RF GASed. Take your time and you will need the DSLR again and rethink it all again from different angle of view. Some ideas are only DSLR born and another a RF must.
Keep the stuff ready for the job

 

[FrankS]

You've pretty much described the new generation of shooter. Shoot digital, shoot a bunch of frames without any thought, take them to photoshop, see if there are any that can be saved with photoshop and rework one or two frames untill you have something you like.

A year ago i was talking to Kim Weston, the granson of Edward Weston. He teaches seminars and was talking aobut the same thing. Fill a memory card, run in and download and see if any one frame can be salvaged in photoshop.

This isn't phototgraphy!

Digital doesn't have to be that way. I shoot all formats, digital included, with the same care that i do my 8x10 camera. It doesn't make any difference if it's 35mm or 8x10, it takes the same care in composition, exposure and mentally processing what goes into makeing a great image. It's not a perchance or random process. There's no substitute for getting everything right before the release is presses. No a photoshop work will make it better than an image well planned and executed.

x-ray, you are correct, digital doesn't HAVE to be that way, but as Ted said here:

"He took hundreds, I took maybe 30. Perhaps that's the difference between someone who has spent a lifetime with film and someone who started out with digital (he did)."

Unless one starts out and learns with film, or one has a teacher that enforces thinking before shooting, or one is incredibly astute and self-disciplined, that is what will happen with digital, as you noted in your first sentence: You've pretty much described the new generation of shooter.

 

[Ben Z]

For some reason, my 30D encourages me to take a lot of photos, without thinking too much about what I'm doing.

I have a 20D, it doesn't encourage me to do anything. It just sits there until I pick it up and then it's up to me to decide when, if and how many times to press the shutter release. I treat my 20D and RD1 as if they were loaded with film. I don't see why people feel possessed by their cameras, they are just cameras. Decisions come from the photographer.

With a manual camera, I had to set the aperture, shutter speed and focus all by myself. I missed those times, when photography was more rewarding. There was no instant-gratification. I had to wait at least a few hours to see my prints. When I had a good shot, it was such a wonderful feeling because I actually felt like I made the photograph. When I had a bad shot, I could think about what went wrong and take full responsibility with such a bad photo.

I can set the aperture, shutter speed and focus manually on my 20D. The 30D is no different. I have my LCD review turned off, I never use it except to set a menu function. I see my shots when I get home to my computer. No matter what camera I use I always take full responsibility for the photos, what possible other reasonable option is there?

I loved my Nikon, but I always had my eyes set on a Leica.

OK, now we come around to the real issue. Inspiration is a good thing for creativity, no matter where the inspiration comes from. On many internet forums people try to belittle others for finding that inspiration from using a particular kind of camera, but that's just an excuse to belittle someone on a forum. In the real world, among artists, there's no such thing as an unacceptible source of inspiration.

 

[FrankS]

"among artists, there's no such thing as an unacceptible source of inspiration."

I love that part. Well said!

 

[cbass]

I agree with Naos to an degree, but I think X-ray, Ted and Ben Z. said it best. It's possible to exercise the same care and control over your photography whether you're shooting film or digital. Composition, for example, is almost impossible to automate.

Just because a person has certain automatic controls at his or her disposal does not obligate that person to use those controls. I'm sure there are plenty of people who use DSLRs completely manually.

Cameras are tools. The operator makes the photograph.